20 Pct Of French iPhones Sold Unlocked

Orange says one-fifth of its French customers have opted for unlocked iPhones.

It wasn’t trumpeted in the press, but in France you can buy an unlocked iPhone. In Germany recently, the courts overturned an injunction that had made mobile operator T-Mobile sell unlocked handsets.   But Orange, which has the exclusive license with Apple for France, has been quietly and legally selling the unlocked iPhones. According to the company, about 20% of its customers have opted for the unlocked version.   With a two-year contract, Orange is selling the iPhone for about $570, and almost $1100 for an unlocked version with no contract. In the fist five days on offer, Orange shifted 30,000 iPhones, 48% of them going to new customers to the network.   Elsewhere, notably in the US, hackers have unlocked iPhones.